The Mediterranean Diet

What is it?
A lifestyle approach to healthy eating that includes a balanced variety of foods and daily exercise.What it’s not?
A fad diet, magic bullet, or quick fix.
While most people associate the word diet with bland food and strict rules, the word diet actually refers to the foods and drinks regularly consumed by a population or individual.Where?
The phrase Mediterranean Diet refers to the food and drink traditionally eaten by people living in the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea (Egypt, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Algeria, Greece, Albania, Israel, Spain, Italy, France, Croatia, Lebanon, Libya, and Malta).Who?
Ancel Keys, a famous researcher and father of the Mediterranean Diet, discovered the Diet in the 1940’s after he noticed that people who ate a Mediterranean-style diet had the lowest rates of chronic disease.
In fact, people who follow a Mediterranean Diet live longer.
What’s even better? They do this by eating delicious foods. That’s right, no depriving yourself on a Mediterranean diet. It’s filled with the freshest, best tasting foods.

How?
The main ingredients of the Mediterranean Diet include:
– Eating abundant amounts of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables
– Enjoying moderate portions of cheese and yogurt
– Choosing healthy fats like olive oil, nuts, avocados, and canola oil
– Drinking wine in moderation, usually with meals, if okay to do so
– Consuming fish and seafood regularly
– Eating small amounts of red meat only few times per month
– Being physically active daily

To view the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid click here

Why should we incorporate the Mediterranean Diet into our lifestyle?
The growing body of medical and scientific evidence supporting the healthfulness of
the Mediterranean Diet, or the “Gold Standard” for healthful eating (as it is often
referred to), continues to show that following a Mediterranean Diet may:

1. Lengthen your life
2. Defend you from chronic diseases
3. Fight cancer
4. Lower your risk for experiencing heart disease along with high blood pressure
and elevated “bad” cholesterol levels
5. Protect you from diabetes
6. Aid your weight loss and management efforts
7. Keep away depression
8. Safeguard you from Alzheimer’s disease
9. Ward off Parkinson’s disease
10. Improve rheumatoid arthritis
11. Help you breathe better

What’s stopping you from eating this way?

Mediterranean cooking classes available

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